Next of Kin
by jibber59
Summary: It's all about finding out where you really fit in.


_Just a little notion I have wanted to work into something, but never found a place where it fit in. So, you get a snippet of a story instead._

Ezra sat quietly in the emergency exam room. He was, frankly, too tired to expend any more energy than was absolutely essential. He ached, well, pretty much everywhere. Nothing critical, nothing that would inspire him to call for assistance or even take a pain killer. Just an overall feeling of – well – crap.

"Eloquent Standish, how your standards have fallen," he thought, keeping the comment to himself. Not that there was anyone to share it with. The others were all off in their own rooms, either being examined, or waiting with one of the wounded.

Ezra had assured the staff he was fine to be left to his own devices. His leg was elevated, ice pack firmly situated on his knee. Decidedly uncomfortable, but hardly a pressing concern. The others ranked with much higher priority.

He had been assured at the scene of the explosion that Josiah was not nearly as badly hurt as it appeared. Broken glass had flown everywhere when the gas line of the home they were ready to raid had exploded. Undoubtedly rigged to take out any intruders, it had been triggered by the robot mounted camera sent in by the SWAT unit. Ezra had never been so grateful for bureaucratic diligence before.

Still, they hadn't just walked away from the scene. Josiah took several shards of glass in his arms, while his vest had saved his torso from impact. "Wouldn't do to have any scars marring up this Matinee Idol look," he had replied when Ezra complemented him on the reflexes that had seen him raise his arms to protect his face. Nathan rode to the hospital with him, helping to apply pressure to the multiple gashes.

Vin and JD both had been thrown several feet by the blast, landing hard on the driveway. Ezra sat by on the grass, watching both being strapped to body boards with neck braces in place before being loaded into ambulances. Vin complained loudly and to anyone who would listen that he was perfectly fine. Chris merely ordered him to shut up and lie still.

JD had been much quieter throughout, raising no real objection, which immediately put Buck into full mother hen mode. He had been far enough back to escape injury, but jumped into the ambulance to ride with the kid.

Chris had been ready to send Vin off when the paramedic noted the unusual way he was holding his arm. A quick touch was all that was needed to confirm the break, and gave Vin the opportunity to tell Chris to shut up and lie still, with an uncommonly large grin on his face.

Judge Travis arrived as their ambulance pulled away, looking around at the scene had come so close to wiping out his best team, not to mention good friends. He was surprised to see Ezra still sitting on the ground, looking only slightly the worse for wear. "No Standish, don't get up. How come you're still here?"

"They appear to have exhausted the supply of ambulances, and as the damage to my person is minimal –"

"Right, minimal." Travis called over one of the uniformed officers controlling the onlookers. "Get me a car and driver for this man. He needs to go to the hospital."

The look on his face stopped Ezra from objecting. "I suppose I should be there to offer assistance to the others. He grimaced slightly as he was helped up, confirming to the judge that something was wrong.

Now he sat, waiting for word on any of them. He looked at the forms in front of him. Having nothing better to do with his time, he had offered to fill out the admittance forms for the others. One might have assumed their names were on some kind of automatic recognition in the system, but apparently the hospital hadn't implemented such a process. He supposed, given the frequency with which life changed circumstances, things needed to be updated regularly.

The information was easy enough to record. His memory for details had been honed by years of necessity. Dates, addresses, even blood types, were all at the ready for him as he flipped through the pages of red tape for each man. The only hesitation came when he had to provide next of kin emergency contact information. Even that slowed him for only a second.

JD's was obvious. Buck was already in there with him, and nothing short of another explosion was likely to remove him from that spot. Ezra smiled at the Big Brother role the otherwise carefree agent had assumed. The teasing, meddling and hovering often drove JD to distraction, but was never turned away. And he, in turn, was every bit as protective of Buck, daring anyone to make fun of him or, heaven forbid, deride the overgrown delinquent.

Vin's form was just as easy to complete. He and Chris had their own brotherly bond. Loners, both of them, as much by fate as by choice, they brought a new definition to the concept of the strong, silent type. There were times Ezra was sure they could read each other's mind, they were just that much in sync. And more than one offender had learned that messing with one brought down the wrath of the other. Even though he couldn't hear them, and that could well be because nothing was being said, Ezra knew they were offering each other the support needed to get through this.

The same would be the case for Nathan and Josiah. Kindred souls, each with an innate desire to help those who couldn't help themselves. How else could anyone explain the presence of a healer and a preacher in their team? Both had started on alternate career paths, yet ended up as ATF agents using their natural tendencies in a way no one could have foreseen. Again, a bond that had a tenuous basis for forming, yet was stronger than any force of nature.

He looked down at the last form, his own. It too was completed with all the relevant details, save one. He started to write down his mother's name, but stopped with the pen hovering above the clipboard. He had to confess to having no knowledge of her exact location at this time. He wasn't even certain he could give a general locale without digging through his emails. He hesitated a moment more before writing something quickly and closing the file.

He was leaning his head back to ask when he heard the call a Code Blue. Knowing none of the team had been badly hurt, but still fearing the worst, he leapt to his feet. The pain that shot up his leg caused to scream out without consciously being aware of it, as he fell to the floor and gasped before losing consciousness.

7-7-7-7-7-7-7

"His left ankle was broken." The resident fidgeted slightly as he looked at the six men staring him down. "He hadn't indicated any discomfort, only that his knee was sore. We had him in a waiting area until the x-ray room was free." They continued to stare, making him increasingly uncomfortable. "We really had quite a bit of confusion going on, with all the victims of this explosion. We do count on conscious patients to be honest with us. He said the only pain was in his knee."

"He probably didn't even know he was hurt." The voice from the door was enough to get on the young doctor's last nerve and he jumped at the sound. Judge Travis struggled to hide his smile, but had no trouble sobering as he looked at the walking wounded in front of him.

Josiah was heavily bandaged, with his right arm in a sling. Chris sat beside him, left wrist encased in plaster. JD looked a little groggy, but both he and Vin had been scanned with every machine in sight and pronounced fit, although both would be making frequent visits to a physiotherapist for a while. Nathan and Buck were the least damaged, but both sported a few bandages, and Nathan was rubbing his lower back from time to time, as much from stress as pain.

"How could he not know he had a busted foot?" Buck challenged without anger. "It had to hurt like hell."

"Well, adrenaline for one thing, and he didn't walk on it," the doctor explained.

Travis added his own theory. "Not to mention the fact he was likely so damn worried about all of you he wouldn't of thought about himself."

"Well, that's true," Josiah nodded.

"Can we see him?"

"He still pretty out of it. We had to sedate him to set the ankle properly, so he'll need to stay here for a few more hours until he comes around."

"That really didn't answer my question. Can we see him, now?" Chris repeated. The tone indicated he wasn't really going to worry about what the answer was.

The young resident surrendered. "I'll confirm what room they have them settled into. Be right back."

"Chris, no matter how pissed off you might be, no yelling."

He looked up at Travis. "What makes you think I'd yell at him?"

"I know you. I know him. It's inevitable."

"Well he should've been paying more attention to himself."

"Like you were?" Vin countered. "Medic had to tell you that you'd busted your hand."

"Cracked, not broken," Chris tried to defend himself.

Josiah got into the conversation with his own observation. "I'll bet half my next paycheck that Nathan didn't know he was cut up until they told him he needed stitches."

"My focus was elsewhere." He glanced at his accuser, who just chuckled softly. The doctor returned, holding several files.

"He's in 1063. But before you head up, we need you each to sign your admission forms. Mr. Standish filled them out for you, just sign on the last page at the bottom. Oh, and if you can check his, under next of kin? We can't really accept what it says."

The judge passed the files around, holding onto Ezra's. His face fell when he looked at the answer in question. The others were talking before he could comment.

"Hey Buck – looks like we're family."

"What, you needed a form to tell you that?"

"Since I got you, I assume he put me down on your form Chris?" Vin smiled when he got a nodded reply. Nathan and Josiah also shared a friendly shrug of acknowledgment at the status Ezra had applied.

"One of you might want to take a look at his form." The judge held the file out.

Chris took it with a puzzled look until he saw what Travis was talking about. "Shit."

"What?"

He turned the paper to let them all see Ezra's response to next of kin. " _None to speak of_."

7-7-7-7-7-7-7

Ezra heard the commotion as his room was invaded. No one spoke, but he didn't need any words to realize they were all there. He allowed himself a quiet sigh of relief. The doctors had assured him the Code Blue had been totally unrelated to his colleagues, but it was only now he allowed himself to accept that as fact.

"You awake Pard?" Vin's voice was soft enough that he wouldn't have roused him had he still been sleeping.

"More or less." He knew he was not at his most coherent, and decided simple dialogue would be safest. "I take it you have all been given a clean bill of health."

"We're all gonna be fine Ezra. Maybe not full strength for a while, but we'll survive."

"Do we know exactly what happened?"

Chris answered. "Not yet. Travis has assigned another team to take the lead, but will be checking a few things out too."

"We'll find the bastards responsible." Buck's voice dropped as his anger returned at the thought of how bad this could've been.

"Careful. You'll hurt yourself."

"You're one to talk. How could you not know you busted your ankle so bad?"

"Not that bad a break really. In fact, that was part of the reason there was no indication of a problem. It was only the application of pressure that caused the distress." Ezra forced himself to open his eyes and look around when no one spoke.

"You should've been paying more attention Ezra. You could've been hurt bad." JD admonished his friend.

The medication made it impossible to hide the grin. "I do appreciate your concern, and I will try to be more digil – more dilgtent – more cautious in the future." He closed his eyes again, fading quickly, but Chris had one issue to address before they left.

"Okay, you get some rest. One of us will give you a lift when they release you."

"Nonsense. You need your rest, and I am sure I can find a suitable alternative."

"Oh – like maybe calling your next of kin?" Ezra snapped his eyes open. Chris had obviously seen his form. He looked around at the faces staring at him and realized they had all seen it.

"I'm certain a taxi will suffice."

Chris's voice softened. "Get some rest Ezra. Like I said, one of us will be here for you. Oh – I fixed your paperwork." He left the folder on Ezra's bed table as the men all quietly left.

Ezra carefully reached over to pick up the file, turning to the final question. He could only blame the medications for the sudden blur that came to his eyes, making it hard but not impossible to read the six names listed under next of kin. He sincerely hoped the teardrop wouldn't smudge the ink.

 _The end._


End file.
